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| KTA employee Kenny Olson |
Kansas Turnpike Authority (KTA) employee Kenny Olson shared his story in 2017 about work zone safety. Kenny retired from KTA after 14 years of service.
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When you’re out on the roadway for a living, you hear, see
and sometimes even experience scary moments.
My name is Kenny Olson and I’m a Roadway Striping Foreman.
I’ve been with KTA for 12 years and I have had more close calls on the roadway
than many would think. Just last summer, I had vehicle crashes happen at two
different times while painting roadway lines.
One of these was in Wichita on the entrance ramp from the
K-96 plaza. We were painting the white line on the right side, early in the
morning when a driver came down the entry ramp way too fast.
Because of her speed, she wasn’t able to move out the way in
time and hit the corner of our attenuator (the crash cushion hooked at the back
of a truck) and then bounced and hit the guardrail. She was lucky she didn’t
hit the truck again after that but rather carried all the way through the right
of way.
The other happened near Lecompton where the road goes from
three lanes to two. We were on the right with the striper when, for a reason I
still don’t know today, a semi-truck locks up his brakes while in the left
lane. His cab cut between the attenuator truck and the truck ahead of it, and
jack-knifed.
The trailer whipped so fast that it hit the attenuator
sideways and ended up back in the roadway, blocking traffic. The driver just
backed up and drove away! Luckily a trooper caught up to him at a service area
soon after.
These are just my two most recent experiences, but there’s
been so many more. From a motorist not paying attention and actually driving their
vehicle between the barrier wall and our striping machine to another driver
purposely driving into the grass and back up onto the road to avoid driving
through the work zone. Nothing surprises me anymore, and that’s the sad
reality.
We can take as many safety precautions as necessary, making
changes to safety procedures, but ultimately, drivers need to pay attention.
People are in such a hurry, on their phones, or even having a dog on their lap
licking their face (yes, that was a real thing I saw once on the road). Leave
sooner. Watch the roadway signs. Pay attention.
Thank you for keeping it simple. Pay attention. That's the key.
ReplyDeleteGlad you were okay! It's scary how distracted some drivers are. Thank you for all your years of service at KTA!
ReplyDeleteAppreciate the reminder that safety is a shared responsibility. It only takes a second of inattention for something to go wrong. Work zone crews are often just feet from fast-moving traffic and counting on drivers to stay alert, slow down, and respect the zone, so everyone makes it home safe.
ReplyDeleteAs a retired striping supervisor, I probably saw everything you did. Being hit in the crash truck a month before retirement was a very violent crash. I’m alive because of the attenuator but very violent!
ReplyDeleteIt’s one thing to talk about the importance of that piece of equipment. But hearing it from someone who lived through it, really drives it home. Thank you for sharing that.
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